Welcome to the Fishbowl
by starlight.moon.princess
Summary: In which Kate Beckett finds the internet fandom, receives fanmail, and discovers RPF. Second chapter: Alexis discovers fanfiction and is left traumatised. Chapter three: Ryan and Esposito are introduced to the fandom and discover slash. Crack.
1. Chapter 1

**I have nothing against the pairings mentioned in this fic. Hell, I ship both of them. But this fic required me to explore what the actual reaction of the characters would be if they were exposed to the idea of both the pairings and the fact that people ship them, so...yeah, no flames about how I hate the ships, okay?**

* * *

Kate Beckett knew that she had fans. It was evident in the fact that she was usually allowed to skip the queue at her local Walmart and the way people would crowd around her crime scenes asking for her autograph.

Nikki Heat had somehow captured the imagination of average New Yorkers, and the fact that she was the inspiration for the character meant that Nikki's popularity had been transferred to her.

So yes, she knew that she was famous, and as long as it didn't interfere with her work, she didn't really mind. At the very least, her depiction as "a real life avenging angel dressed in NYPD blue" resulted in positive press for the department, so she couldn't complain.

Of course, that didn't stop her fellows cops and assorted friends from sending her any interesting things they found about her or her character on the internet or in the papers.

Apparently, there was an entire cult of obsessed fans dedicated to Nikki Heat. They would meet up to discuss her character development at The Old Haunt, hoping to bump into the inspiration for their favourite characters there. They actually dressed up as her and Castle and went around acting out their adventures.

Hell, there were _New York tours_ based on the places where she had worked the cases that inspired the books, and an old friend of hers from college had sent her a link to eBay where someone was selling homemade _doll replicas_ of the entire team, including Castle.

It did disturb her a bit, how much these people – whom she had never even met – seemed to be interested in her personal life. But she simply chalked it up bored housewives with nothing better to do with their time, and went about her daily life.

Besides, Castle hadn't complained, and there was no chance he didn't know about it. There was no chance she was about to leave herself open to jokes about how she, a hardened police officer, couldn't handle a few fans while Castle could.

Then the stuff started trickling into the precinct.

First was the fanmail. It all started when she walked into work on a normal Monday to find Ryan and Esposito reading mail, of all things.

"What on earth are you two doing?"

The two of them jumped at the sound of her voice, before turning to look at her with smiles that promised nothing but trouble for her.

"Nothing at all," Ryan grinned. "Just looking at a few letters from your…ahem…_fans_."

"Wh-"

"Here's one," Esposito said, picking up a piece of paper from the disturbingly large file. "_Dear Detective Beckett, I am a huge fan of your work. I have been following every case you have ever worked on, and I have come to the conclusion that we are soulmates, meant to be together for_- Hey!"

"Give that to me," she said furiously, grabbing the letter. "What the hell is this?"

"Like Ryan said, letters from your fans. There's about five declarations of love, thirty marriage proposals, twenty-two letters of thanks for everything you do – we've put those aside just in case you actually want to read them – twelve promises to murder you gruesomely – all of whose authors are being tracked down right now – and, by far the most interesting, fifteen letter stating all the things the authors do to you in their fantasies."

"WHAT?!"

"Yeah, some of them have even included photos. Like this chick, she's pretty hot," Esposito said, voice a mixture of amused and appreciative.

Kate looked around to make sure that no one else had noticed the pile of letters. Thankfully, the precinct was relatively deserted.

She grabbed the two idiots in front of her and pulled them close. "Listen to me very carefully," she whispered heatedly. "You two are going to burn all of these letters here – maybe not the threat and thanks letters – and are not going to tell _anyone_ about them. _Especially_ Castle. Do you understand me?"

"Fine."

"Can we at least keep the ones that were written to us?"

She had thought that was the worst the Nikki Heat fans could get. She had thought wrong.

A few weeks after the incident with the mail, she entered the precinct to see Ryan and Esposito staring at the computer screen in front of them, utterly horrified.

"Hey guys," she greeted. "What's up?"

"Look at this," Ryan hissed at her, turning the computer to face.

"And…what am I supposed to be looking at?" she asked, starting at the unfamiliar site in front of her. "What exactly is tumblr?"

"A blogging site," Esposito said. "But that's not the point. Look at this."

"RPF. What exactly is that, some new thing to do with the railways?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Not…exactly," Ryan said gingerly, pressing a few buttons. "Look at it now."

**OMG THEY'VE POSTED A NEW FIC! IT'S SOOOOO HOT, YOU'VE GOT TO CHECK IT OUT! RYSPOSITO FOREVER!**

"Ummm…wow," she said, taken aback at the obvious enthusiasm for this 'fic' the writer was displaying. "What exactly is a fic? And for that matter, what's Rysposito and why does it sound like something you two would name your love child?"

"No, it's this," Ryan said, clicking a few more buttons and turning the computer towards Kate before he had a chance to catch a glimpse of the screen.

_His strong hands stroked up my legs, moving closer to the place I desperately wanted him to touch, while he nibbled at my neck. "Please, Javi," I cried out, voice filled with passion. "Please!"_

Kate looked over what she had read once again to confirm what she was seeing. As her mind processed the writing on the screen, she burst out into uncontrollable laughter.

"It's not funny!" Esposito groused. "This is serious! We're friends, damnit! Bros! How the hell do people get this…_twisted stuff_ from our friendship?"

"Oh come on, guys," Kate said between laughs. "It's just a couple of people having fun. So what?"

"So what? So _what_? They're writing _porn_ about us Beckett! Can't we arrest them for defamation?" Ryan yelped in outrage.

"Grow up guys. It's a just a bunch of bored people looking to live their life vicariously through the two of you. Let them have their fun."

"Really? Well, if that's how you feel then I doubt you'd object to reading this," Esposito said viciously as Ryan fiddled with the computer a bit more before showing her the screen once again.

"What exactly is this? Caskett? What's that supposed to mean?" Kate asked, perplexed.

"Go on, continue reading."

**This should **_**so**_** totally happen in real life!**

"_Oh my god, Castle," Detective Beckett moaned as Castle plundered her mouth. The two of them had been fighting off their sexual tension for years, but after their latest brush with death, they weren't able to deny it longer. "I want you so badly!"_

Kate looked at the screen disbelievingly, unable to comprehend what she was reading. As she went over the text once more, she unconsciously balled her hands into fists and opened them again several time as a way to release the aggression the words brought up in her.

She took a deep breath, calming herself before she spoke. After all, it wouldn't do her any good to murder him before he sorted this out.

"CASTLE!"


	2. Chapter 2

**So, due to popular demand, here's another chapter. I'm not sure if this measures up to the previous one, so I hope you guys will tell me what you thought of it!**

* * *

"Oh my god! Why would you even do that?" Alexis shrieked as she caught a glimpse of the computer screen in front of Buttons.

"What?" her friend asked, looking at Alexis innocently. "You have to admit, they're kind of hot together. I mean, can't you just imagine the tw-"

"Stop it!" the red-head cried, clapping her hands to her ears. "That's my _father_ you're talking about!"

Buttons walked up to Alexis and tugged her hands away from her ears before continuing. "Oh come on, Alexis, you can't tell me that you had no idea that your father had a huge internet following."

"Of course I knew that! I just didn't think that that would translate into something like _this_!" she screeched.

"Alexis, don't you think you're overreact-"

"There are people who are basically writing porn about my father and Detective Beckett and you're telling me I'm _overreacting_?" she demanded furiously. "No, I don't think I am!"

"Alexis-"

"No," she said, shaking her head and backing away from the computer. "I've got to go."

And then she fled.

* * *

"DAD!"

At the sound of his daughter's panicked voice, Richard Castle jerked away from the chapter of Nikki Heat he was working on and quickly walked up to her.

"What happened, Alexis?" he asked worriedly. "Is everything okay? Do I need to call Beckett and the rest of the team?"

At the sound of Kate Beckett's name, Alexis felt herself shudder involuntarily. "It's nothing of that sort, Dad."

"Then what is it? You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I don't think you want to know what happened," Alexis said feverently. She knew that she was going to have nightmares about what she had seen, and she didn't want to pass them on to her father.

"Oh come on now," he said, looking at her pleadingly. "You know that I'm not going to tell anyone."

Alexis shrugged out her father's embrace and dropped herself onto the sofa, pulling one of the pillows close to her. "Trust me dad, you don't want to see this. It will haunt you forever, I promise."

"Alexis, I can guarantee that I have a stronger stomach than you can imagine," Richard said, giving his daughter a look that was just a touch patronising. "Looking at crime scenes everyday means that I'm not really squeamish anymore."

"Fine!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in defeat. "If you really want me to, I'll show you! But don't come crying to me when you can't get it out of your mind!"

She pulled her father's laptop close to her and typed a little on it before turning it to face Richard. "This," she said, pointing to the screen. "_This_ is what's traumatised me. Buttons showed it to me today, and I just _know_ that I'm not going to be able to get it out of my mind."

Rick looked at the screen in front of him curiously. The text on it looked remarkably like a story, but he couldn't think of any book that would upset his daughter so much. He tugged it from Alexis' grasp and started reading.

_The image in front of Kate was breathtaking._

_The crinkles around Castle's eyes, the light flush evident on his cheek, his unfocused gaze as he looked at her…it all just made her want him more._

"_I love you so much," she whispered, pulling him into a deep kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and pushed him towards the bed, following him in his descent…_

Rick forced himself to look away from the screen. It was almost as though the author had delved into the deep recesses of his brain and put all his fantasies on paper.

"I don't get it," he said, turning to face his expectantly waiting daughter. "How exactly is this disturbing? The author's actually really good! If I knew who they were, I'd advise them to send in an original manuscript to a publisher. Hell, I'd even endorse it if they wanted to me too!"

Alexis looked at her father disbelievingly. "I cannot _believe_ you!" she yelled. "How are you not – you know what? I don't want to know," she said, taking a deep breath. "Just – make sure I don't ever have to see it again. If I do, I promise you I'll tell Detective Beckett about it."

At that, panic flashed over Rick's face. "No no no no, don't tell Beckett. I promise you won't ever have to see it again!" he begged his daughter, his mind already imagining the terrible things Kate would do to him if she found out about these stories.

"Well…I guess I'll leave you to enjoy yourself," Alexis said, pulling herself up from the sofa and walking up to her room.

"That's nice," her father said offhandedly, his attention returning to the laptop in front him. "Hey, would you happen to know what Margomery is supposed to be?"

* * *

**Yes, that last ship was meant to be Martha/Montgomery. I just thought it was unfair that Castle hadn't been traumatised :P  
**

**I might add another chapter or two, but I make no promises. It all depends on my muse.**

**Hope you guys liked this! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**An explanation of how Ryan and Esposito happened onto the fanfic they showed Kate in the first chapter.**

**I hope you like it! :)**

* * *

It all started with Kaitlyn. That was the one thing Ryan and Esposito both agreed to – it was all her fault.

Ever since Kevin Ryan had inspired Detective Raley in the Nikki Heat books, his youngest sister had kept track of all the fan sites revolving around both his character and him.

First were the photos.

* * *

They were working on a murder case – the victim had been a microbrewer found dead in his brewery, so of course Castle was all over it – when Kaitlyn called.

"Hey Katie," Kevin said as he answered the call. "You're on speaker. What's up?"

"Check your email," she ordered him imperiously before hanging up immediately.

"What do you think that's about?" he asked Javier.

He simply shrugged. "Your sister bro. you tell me," he said before turning back to his own computer.

Curiosity piqued, Kevin opened up his email account and clicked on the latest mail Katie had sent him. What he saw completely shocked him.

It was an obviously photoshopped picture of him, his head having been attached to some random guy's body. The surprising part was what the unknown man was wearing – nothing but a naughty police officer's outfit. A caption underneath the picture proclaimed _"Both sexy and sweet! The best detective ever!"_

"What the hell?" Javier's voice came from above him, sounding both surprised and amused.

Kevin gave Javier a dirty look. "I have no clue. Katie just sent this to me."

"Hey, there's an accompanying note from her. Let's see…

_Dear Kevin,_

_Turns out that inspiring a character in one of Rick Castle's books earns you quite a few fans! A couple of reporters found out who you and Javier were – I'm emailing you the news reports – and there you go! You're now a minor internet celebrity! Isn't it all exciting?_

Oh God, this is gold bro! Random people over the internet lusting after you?" By now Javier was having a full blown laughter attack.

"You didn't realise what Katie's mail meant did you?" Kevin asked mischievously.

"Yeah, that I've now got enough to torture you with for the rest of your natural life."

"No, it also means that there are people out there who are lusting after _you_. Let's see…I'll just type in Javier Esposito on Google…and would you look at _that_!"

There, in front of the two of them, were pages of photos of Javi, either photoshopped or taken from the NYPD calendars he'd been a part of.

After that, searching the internet for new material against each other became a bit of a hobby. Of course, they limited it to photos and news articles, until Katie decided to send them some more shocking information.

This time the two of them were working on incomplete paperwork on a Monday morning when the call came.

"Hey Katie," Kevin started.

"Don't have time to talk," Katie interrupted him breezily. "Check your mail. I think you'll find it interesting."

Once Kevin hung up, he gestured Javi over. "Katie's sent over something new," he said.

"Huh. Maybe it'll something else embarrassing about you," Javier said.

"It's just a link. Wait a second, let me see it gets us" Kevin said, clicking on the attached link.

The page that loaded was from some site called tumblr.

"What exactly is this?" Javi asked.

"No idea. But I think Katie wanted us to click on this link. Under this piece of text, see?" Kevin replied, pointing at the screen.

**OMG THEY'VE POSTED A NEW FIC! IT'S SOOOOO HOT, YOU'VE GOT TO CHECK IT OUT! RYSPOSITO FOREVER!**

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Javier asked, completely confused.

"Some kind of chat speak, no doubt. I don't understand teens nowadays. Let's see where this new link leads us."

As soon as Kevin clicked on the link, a page of nothing but text appeared on the screen. Kevin looked over it quickly and pushed himself back in shock and horror.

"What the hell is this?" he asked, yelping.

"What?" Javier asked, curious. He bent to read what was written on the page.

_I had been in love with him for as long as I could remember, but I knew it would never be returned. He was my partner, after all. Besides, he was dating Lanie._

At the last word, Javi stopped reading to look at Kevin in shock. "Bro…is this about us?"

"Keep on reading," Kevin whimpered. "It gets worse."

"How could it-"

"Trust me. It does."

Taking Kevin's word for it, Javier bent down to continue reading.

_His strong arms stroked up my legs, moving closer to the place I desperately wanted him to touch. "Please Javi," I cried out, voice filled with passion. "Please!"_

"Bloody hell!" Javi yelled, shutting the page on the computer and pushing away from the desk in horror. "Get it away from me! It burns my eyes!"

"I told you," Kevin told him miserably, still whimpering.

"But-But-But why would someone _do_ that?" Javier asked, sounding like a lost child. "We're friends! Not _that_!"

"I know," Kevin said, still moaning.

"Hey guys," a voice came from above them. "What's up?"

The two of them looked up to see Kate standing over them, an amused look on her face.

"Look at _this_!" Kevin exclaimed, turning the computer to face Kate.

* * *

**I'm not sure what more I'm going to add to this. Probably a chapter with Lanie and the entire team, but I'm still in two minds about that.**

**Anyhow, please remember to drop a review as you leave. I love to hear from you guys!**


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